


Spoiler Alert

by ladyheroines



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Stephanie Brown is the best thing to exist ever don't fight me on this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-27
Updated: 2013-11-27
Packaged: 2018-01-02 18:48:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1060283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyheroines/pseuds/ladyheroines
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stephanie Brown: high school student, small time vigilante, and recent, alien kidnappee. She's not happy with Tim for taking so long to rescue her from the Reach. But more importantly, she's not happy with him for not coming up with a safer plan for himself. The team gets to watch the spectacle. (Spoilers for E10, S2, "Before The Dawn". For those who don't know, we are pretty sure the runaway wearing the purple jacket was Stephanie Brown. This is set shortly after she appears on Gotham's rooftops as Spoiler).</p>
            </blockquote>





	Spoiler Alert

Tim shifts where he stands, sending an imploring look to Nightwing in the hopes that maybe – just _maybe_ – his brother will take pity on him and give him a duty near the front of the ship. But Nightwing is distracted, his worried gaze going between Jaime and M'Gann, and so he doesn't even notice that Tim has finished checking the rest of the runaways aboard their ship for injuries. Most of them are sitting in the back, leaning up against the wall and just out of view from the front of the Bioship. The few that have thicker skin and steady legs are standing just behind the divider between the front of the ship – where the team sits - and the cargo hold. And of course she's one of those that's still standing.

And it's better that way. Tim wouldn't be able to stand it if she got hurt, especially when he was so nearby. But he would also like it if all the action would have worn her out and she was sitting in the back with the others, rather than glaring daggers at the side of his head. He can practically hear her patience wearing thinner and thinner and in just a second it's going to snap.

He turns his eyes to Nightwing, wondering if he can pull off just going up to the front and pretend that he has a reason to be up there now, rather than watching over the civilians with Karen. He scans over his options, trying to file up a list of excuses that he can use. He's come up with about two paper thin ones that he knows are going to backfire anyway when he hears the commotion. He turns to find her on her knees, giving raspy, broken coughs. One of the nearby kids is already at her side, patting her back, but it's only getting worse and he can see her eyes watering and sliding shut. He's taken two steps toward her when she's completely collapsed on the floor and from the quality of her coughs it sounds like she about to cough up some blood.

“Here, let me take her,” Tim says, placing his hands on her shoulders and lifting her slowly, trying to craddle her against him without actually looking like that's what he's doing. Karen herself looks a little out of it still from getting slammed into the wall, but she watches with concern as Tim lifts the girl into a sitting position. He tries not to feel a little frantic as he watches her continue to cough, the sound getting weaker, and not in the good way.

He sends a helpless look at Karen, and Karen gives him a sympathetic look back, though she has no idea that Tim actually _knows_ the girl in his arms. “Take her to the front. I think Beast Boy has some water. It might help,” Karen offers, reaching up to push her goggles further up her head as she looks back down at the blonde. Tim nods, chewing at his lip a little as he carefully lifts Stephanie, who continues to cough, bridal style up into the air.

He carries her weight slowly, weighed down and afraid to upset her, and takes her through the small opening into the front of the ship. A few of the members of the team turn when he carries her in, but he's immediately turning his eyes to Beast Boy as he carries her closer to the front. “Beast Boy, do you have any water? She started coughing and got all weak. I don't know what cause-”

“Nah, don't worry about that, I'm fine, “ Stephanie piped up in his arms, her muscles tensing up once again and swinging herself out of his grip before he can process how chipper her voice sounds. That is most definitely not the voice of someone who was just coughing or feeling ill...

“So! _Boy Wonder_ ,” Stephanie basically growls out, turning on her heel to glare at Tim, “what day is it?” She raises her eyebrow at him, placing her hands on her hips, everything about her _daring_ Tim to ignore her now. Tim sends a glance to the team, most of whom are now giving her their full attention. Even Nightwing has pulled out of his reverie and looks slightly alarmed at the sight of Stephanie’s fierce demeanor and presence. It's almost as if he didn't notice her earlier. Either that, or he honestly thought Stephanie was going to stay quiet until they were alone.

“Uh.. the… thirtieth?” Tim says, raising his hands to try and calm Stephanie down. For just a second, something in Stephanie’s eyes goes dark, and then her anger is back, just as fierce.

“The thirtieth?!” Really?! I was gone for eight days, and you just now got around to getting me back?!” Stephanie hisses out, her voice intense as a scream, but the tone dumbed down a bit so her voice isn’t heard in the hull of the ship. Tim can feel his teammates eyes on him, and notes Batgirl giving a stifled snicker, but he keeps his focus on Stephanie. He’s about to open his mouth to try and calm her down when she bursts out again. “It took you eight days to come up with that sucky plan?! Are you kidding me?! I thought Bats trained you better than that!” Stephanie puts a hand to her forehead, heaving out a sigh before she runs her fingers through her hair. She gives a shaky laugh, glancing around at the team’s bewildered faces.

“Listen, I don’t give a crap how long it takes you to come get me, but next time come up with a plan that isn’t going to get _you_ killed, okay, Robin?” Stephanie says, yanking her fingers out from the tangled ends of her hair where they get caught in place. “It doesn’t do Gotham any good if it loses half of its Batfamily saving a bunch of civilians from chirping creatures without noses.”

Stephanie turns away from Tim, now scratching at the back of her neck as she tries to calm her breathing down. He chances a glance around at the team, half of whom are staring at Robin and the other half are looking shocked at Stephanie. “What’s with the lack of noses in there, anyway? Are they all Voldemort? Hi, I’m Stephanie, by the way,” she says, noticing the gazes staring at her. She gives a small wave to the team before spinning back to Tim. The fire in her eyes is gone, replaced with a softer, more caring look. “Ti- Robin, listen, just think things out better next time.”

“Oh- Okay, Steph. I promise. Just calm down, okay? We’ll- I’ll take you back to Gotham. Explain things to your mom,” Tim says, reaching out to put his hands on her shoulders. She smiles at him, looking much more at peace.

“Good. I’ll go back and pretend to be a civilian again, maybe comfort some of the others. You owe me a dinner,” Stephanie says, leaning in closer and pecking him on the cheek before skipping past him to head to the back of the ship. Tim stands, petrified, fighting the urge reach up and trace his cheek where she kissed it. He looks at the floor, trying very hard to fight the blush that is spreading up to his ears that Stephanie can trigger so easily.

Stephanie disappears into the back of the ship and Tim ignores that his ears are now burning red and he can hear Batgirl’s complete failures at stifling her laughs now. “Shut up, B.G. Now I have to face her mom’s wrath,” Tim mumbles, still blushing to his ears.

“You lived through her’s, you can face her mom,” Nightwing said, and Tim didn’t have to be looking at him to know he had an infuriating smirk on his face. He does glance up at him though, and as soon as he does Nightwing grin widens. “Ah, the trials of young love.” Nightwing says it just to get Tim more flustered, and it works. He takes a second to compose himself, and carefully avoiding looking at any of his teammates, before turning and following Stephanie back to the hull. His cape has barely swished after him before he hears Conner whisper, “Who was that?”

“That would be a spoiler, wouldn’t it?” Batgirl replies. Tim smacks his forehead and groans.


End file.
